Feel is the third studio album by American
rock band
Sleeping with Sirens was released by June 4, 2013. This is the last album released on
Rise. The entire album was produced by
Cameron Mizell who had produced their debut album.[3] It is the final album to feature rhythm guitarist Jesse Lawson who left the band later in 2013.[4] The album also features guest appearances by Fronz (
Attila), Matty Mullins (
Memphis May Fire) and Shayley Bourget (
Dayshell, ex-
Of Mice & Men).[3]
Background
In December 2012, vocalist Kellin Quinn teased about a new album, stating "If the world doesn't end before #2013, [we'll] deliver an amazing album to you!"[5] On February 6, 2013, Quinn posted that he had finished tracking vocals for the album.[6] Recording was done at Chango Studios with producer
Cameron Mizell, who also acted as the engineer, and was assisted by Alex Prieto. Shawn Christmas and Earl Halasan contributed additional programming.
Dan Korneff mixed the album at Sonic Debris Recording Studio in New York, while
Ted Jensen mastered it.[7]
The majority of the songs on the album were written by the band, except for a few: "Alone" by the band and Kelly; "Congratulations" by the band and Mullins; "These Things I've Done", "Satellites", and "Sorry" by the band and Mizell.[7]
Release
In March and April 2013, the group went on a headlining US tour, dubbed the Take It or Leave It Tour, with support from
Conditions, Dangerkids and
Lions Lions.[8] On April 22, Feel was announced for release in June. In addition, a lyric video was released for "Low".[9] On May 20, "Alone" was made available for streaming.[10] The following day, it was released as a single.[11] On May 24, "The Best There Ever Was" was made available for streaming.[12] A day later, "Free Now" was made available for streaming.[13] On May 26, "Congratulations" was made available for streaming.[14] Later that day, the rest of the album was made available for streaming.[15] In May and June, the band went on a headlining tour of the UK and Europe.[5]
Feel was released on June 4 through Rise Records.[11] Two days later, a music video was released for "Alone".[16] In the summer, the group embarked on the
Warped Tour.[17] In September and October, the group went on a tour of Europe and the UK.[18] On October 16, it was announced that guitarist Jesse Lawson had left the group, choosing to focus on his family.[19] On October 29, a music video was released for "Congratulations".[20] In October and November, the group embarked on The Feel This Tour in the US with support from Memphis May Fire,
Breathe Carolina,
Issues and
Our Last Night.[21]
Feel received generally positive reviews from music critics. Gregory Heaney of
AllMusic commented that "the talented vocal of Kellin Quinn making an album like Feel a shining light in an increasingly homogenized post-hardcore landscape."[22] Scott Heisel of Alternative Press stated "while the collaboration with
MGK gels perfectly and could totally be a crossover smash, the collaboration with Memphis May Fire’s Matty Mullins is misguided" and continued "still, the good more than outweighs the bad, and as a whole, Feel is a big step up."[23]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 3 on the US
Billboard 200 chart, selling around 60,000 copies in its first week, making the album one of the highest charting
post-hardcore albums of all time.[27][28][29] It has sold 180,000 copies in the US as of March 2015.[30] The album also debuted at number 36 on
UK Albums Chart[31] and number 14 on
Australian Albums Chart.[32]
Track listing
All songs written by Sleeping with Sirens, except where noted.[7]